Anahola Granola Cookies

Most mornings, I have yogurt and granola for breakfast. I like to try different granola flavors, usually something made locally, or just a different flavor combination. My friend went to Hawaii and brought back some Anahola Granola, which is made Kauai, Hawaii. Their granola is fantastic, and I looked up their website, since I figured if they shipped to my location I would buy again. They do ship, and I picked up three types of granola: original, tropical, and ginger mango.

On their website I discovered this cookie recipe. I love cookies and I love granola, so I figured putting them together was a winning idea. This recipe called for their trail mix granola, but I wanted to use the ginger mango granola. A few of the other ingredients specified Hawaiian ingredients, but they were classic items that I had already, like salt and vanilla. The recipe does call for a spice blend that contains cacao, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and peppercorns, and I included some ginger and cinnamon to balance to omission of the spice blend.

You can use any version of granola that you would like, but I really like what I have gotten from Anahola Granola, and I tweaked my spices to match the granola I was using. This dough is soft and requires refrigeration, but I found that it firmed up quickly once refrigerated. I made my cookies fairly small, and I like that. With the dried mango in the granola, occasionally you get a spicy mango bite in these cookies, which is a fantastic pair for the cinnamon. These are so good and I am thrilled that I have more granola so I can make more cookies.  

Anahola Granola Cookies
½ cup butter, room temperature
¼ cup sugar or honey
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla  
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt  
1½ teaspoons Aloha Spice Cacao Grind*
2 cups Anahola Granola
Additional granola

In a large mixer bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix on medium until combined. Add the egg and vanilla and stir to incorporate. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. Stir in the granola.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours, or overnight.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, using about 1/1/2 tablespoons per cookie. Press additional granola on top of each cookie and flatten slightly.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, until golden. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

*I used a combination of ginger and cinnamon

Recipe from Anahola Granola

Dark Chocolate Chip Granola Cookies

I’m gearing up for holiday baking but there still is a little time left before I start posting those recipes. Since there isn’t a lot of time before I change to peppermint, eggnog, and gingerbread, I am making recipes like this one that is a twist on a classic. My husband got home from work, and he was thrilled that I had made chocolate chip cookies. Well, almost classic chocolate chip cookies.

The difference with these cookies is that they use dark chocolate chunks, which aren’t uncommon, but also granola, which I have only occasionally seen used in cookie recipes. I short while ago my husband and I spent the weekend in La Conner, which is a cute agricultural town. There a little breakfast and lunch place called The Calico Cupboard that we visited. While I didn’t have the granola there, I did buy some for breakfasts at home.

Other than those two variations, this recipe is a classic, and was found in one of those “best cookies from around the US” articles. The original recipe specified almond granola. Well, my granola has some almonds in it, so I think that’s good. I did take the raisins out of the granola, as I didn’t know how they would fare during baking. These cookies look and smell fantastic, and I asked my husband if he could tell what was different. He didn’t notice right away, but the granola adds an extra little crunch. These were a big success!

Dark Chocolate Chip Granola Cookies
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup dark chocolate chunks
1/2 cup granola
1/4 cup oats

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter on medium for 30 seconds to soften. Add the sugar and brown sugar and mix again on medium to combine. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir to incorporate. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture. With a spatula, stir in the dark chocolate chunks, granola, and oats.

Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving some space for the cookies to spread.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the cookies begin to brown along the edges. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens